Ever since my late teens, I have been of the opinion that more is not better. Rather, balance is the key to success, peace, happiness, and all things good and right in the cosmos.

The common notion that a stiffer (ie. "faster") rod is better for distance casting only holds true when compared to a pretty darned slow rod (by today's standards). It is true from a certain point and up to another point. Then it falls apart. Once again, it's the balance point somewhere in that sweet spot in between that we are actually trying to find.

Folks should read the article and take note that some of these rods measured a true weight of 7 and even 8wt when tested objectively, even though the respected namebrand manufacturers stamped them 5 weights. In fact, only 3 of the 8 actually measured within the acceptable range for a 5wt.